Welded ball panel fastener



March 10, 1942. R. w. HALL WELDED BALL PANEL FASTENER Filed May 51, 1940 FIG. 7.

FIG. 5.

FIG.

lNVENTOR RALPH w. HALL I ATTORN s atented Ni'rsp STATES- I ATNT :11:

2,215,900 WELDED BALL PANEL FASTENER Ralph W. Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Randall Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 31, 1940, Serial No. 338,188

I 12 Claims.

This invention relates tofastening devices, and more particularly to fastening devices of the class adapted to securely, though detachably,

mount one panel in a fiatwise, coplanar manner to a second panel, or other support surface.

Heretofore, it has been common practice, par

ticularly in the automotive industry, to attach upholstery-and other finish panels to various body or support panels by means of so-called nail-on lems which are lessened or entirely obviated by the fastening device comprising the present invention. I

An object of the present invention is to provide attachment means for automotive finish panels, and the like, which will permit rapid and permanent assembly-line attachment of the finish panels to their support panels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fastening device for finish panels, andthe like, which will permit such panels to be quickly and securely, though detachably, mounted to a support panel without requiringthe use of tools, and without the useof auxiliary means such as nails, screws, adhesives and the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mounting strip for finish panels, and the like, with a plurality of substantially spherical attachment members each of which project from and are permanently and rigidly secured to the mounting strip of which they comprise an integral part.

A further object of the present invention is to provide .a mounting strip for finish panels and the like, which strip includes projecting attachment members which are characterized by the absence of sharp points, edges or ,corners upon which persons handling the strips and/or th finish panels to which they are applied, could be injured. This is in keen contrast with the hereinabove mentioned nail-on mounting strips, the nail points of which comprise and constitute a constant source of minor, but nevertheless painful injuries to the workmen.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide attachment means for finish-panel mounting strips and the like, wherein said attachment means comprise spherical elements of such nature as to permit a plurality of finish panels to be stacked, directly one upon another for shipment or storage. Heretofore, when the finish panels were provided with nail-on mounting strips, it was necessary to physically separate adjacent finish panels to preclude marring,

scratching arid/or other defacement of the ad-,

jacent panels. It was likewise necessary to provide means for preventing bending and other physical damage to the nails themselves during shipment and storage.

Another object of the invention is to provide anchorage or attachment means of the hereinabove stated character which may be inexpensively manufactured and quickly and permanently afiixed to the mounting strip by means of spot welding.

A further object of the invention is to provide a plurality of socket members in the support panels to which the finish panels are attached, wherein the socket members are stamped or punched out of the body of the support panel in a single operation, thereby facilitating mass production.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide in a support panel a plurality of socket" members which are engageable, one each, by a corresponding attachment member carried by a finish panel and wherein the attachment-member-engaging elements of each socket may be simply and easily reconditioned when their locking characteristics have become impaired after repeated attachment and removal of the finish panel.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the upper left comer of a finish panel and a support panel upon which the finish panel is to be mounted, showing the cooperative fastening means of the finish and support panels respectively, which comprise the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear view of. the upper left portion of the support panel of Fig. 1 with the finish panel secured thereto, showing the inter-relationship between the fastening means of the panels.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional views taken on a vertical plane throughY-Y of Fig. 1 showing in sequence a finish panel, attachment member abutting, entering and engaging its corresponding socket member of a support panel. 1

Figs. 7 and 8 are modified forms of support panel sockets comprising a detail of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an end view of a plurality of fully completed and upholstered finish panels provided with mounting strips of the present invention, stacked one upon another for storage or shipment.

With reference to the drawing, it is noted that broadly speaking, the fastener means of the present invention comprises a spherical ball or anchorage head III which is adapted to be engaged by a socket member II. As illustrated in Fig. 1, anchorage heads III project from the rear face of finish panel I2, whereas sockets II are provided in the body portion of support panel I3.

For the purpose of illustration, and solely by way of example, the anchorage heads III are shown secured to the rear leg I4 of a U-shaped mounting strip I5, which is adapted to be disposed over .and engage the outer edge or perimeter of a panel board I6, Fig. 3. A suitable sheet of upholstery material Il may be secured over the outer face of the panel board by reason of edges 20 thereof being turned over and anchored to the rear face of leg I4 of the mounting strip in any approved manner. A layer of wadding, denoted generally by the numeral I8, may be interposed between the adjacent faces of the panel board and sheet of upholstery, as shown. As illustrated in Fig. 1, those portions of the upholstery edges 20 which engage the rear leg I4 of a mounting strip are cut away, as at I9, adjacent anchorage head members III. This composite structure comprises the finish panel I2, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the anchorage heads III comprise solid metallic balls, such as bearings, or the like, each of which are permanently secured to the mounting strip by means of spot welding, as indicated at 2|. In this manner the entire-body portion of each attachment head III projects outwardly from the-rear face of leg I4, and the front face of the legat weld 2| is perfectly fiat and smooth.

It should be noted that the mounting strips I5 including anchorage heads III, will in most instances be fabricated at one factory located remote from a second factory where the composite finish panels I2. are fabricated. The completed finish panels are then sent to a third or so-called assembly factory where they are mounted to their support panels. By reason of the inherent characteristics of the attachment heads I0, mounting strips I5 may be shipped to the finish-panel-fabricatiomplant without requiring special packaging. It should be further .observed that after the mounting strips have been incorporated into a completed finish panel, the anchorage heads project from the rear face thereof in such a manner as to permit a pair of panels C and D to be stacked with the respective attachment heads of one panel abutting the rear face of the other panel as shown in Fig. 9. In this manner a plurality of pairs of finish panels may be stacked, one upon another, for purposes of shipment or storage without damage to the anchorage heads or to the finish panels themselves. It should be further noted, that when thus stacked, the lateral distance be tween the panels C and D comprising each pair, is equal to the diameter of an attachment head member I 0. This distance, it has been found, is approximately one-half of the lateral distance between adjacent finish panels provided with the so-called nail-on strips, which necessitate the use of inserts to preclude damaging the upholstery fabric by the nail points.

The sockets II, with which the attachment heads I 0 engage, may be punched, stamped or otherwise formed from the body portion of support panel I3, whereby to provide a pair of opposed anchorage lip, wing or tongue elements 30 and 3|. With particular reference to Fig. 2, it will be noted that each wing element comprises opposedside edges 32 and a free outer or forward lock edge 33. wing is integral with the support panel I3. The rear portion of one of the wing elements, such as, by way of example wing element 3|, is disposed adjacent a reinforced edge or other reinforced portion of the support panel. Such reinforcing may comprise an out-turned flange 34 formed by cold working the metal, or one or more reinforcing ribs such as I35, Fig. '7. In this manner wing elements 3| are stiffened and rendered more resistant to movement out of the mean plane of the support panel than are wing elements 30. served that neither of the two wing elements 30 and 3| of a socket are resilient in the sense that they will return to the mean plane of the I support panel upon being moved out of said plane. Instead, the wing elements are merely yieldable in the sense that they are capable of being moved or bent out of the plane of the support panel by a force applied thereto as when an attachment head is forced therein, as hereinafter more fully described.

The adjacent lock edges 33 of the wing elements of each socket are transversely spaced apart to provide a central socket opening denoted generally by the numeral 35. The opposed side edges 32 of each wing element are preferably spaced from the adjacent edges 36 of the support panel to permit relative movement be-' tween the wing elements and the support panel without frictional resistance between edges 32 and 36.

With particular reference to Fig. 2, the lateral distance between adjacent edges 36 of the socket II is substantially greater than the diameter of attachment head III, whereas the transverse distance between the adjacent lock edges 33 is somewhat less than the diameter of an attachment head.

As shown in Fig. 1, the longitudinal axis of each socket is preferably disposed parallel to the edge of the support panel. The term longitudinal axis as used herein extends between and at right angles to edges 38 of a socket;

Each anchorage head may be considered as comprising a forward face 40 and a rear or lock face ll. With reference to Fig. 4, it is seen that the forward and lock faces are disposed on opposite sides of a plane XX disposed diametrically through head I0 and parallel to the rear leg I4 of the finish strip. It should likewise be observed that each of the forward and rear faces of the anchorage head uniformly and progressively diminish in cross sectional area on opposite sides of plane X-X.

With reference to Figs. 4 to 6 inclusive, it will be observed that as attachment head III is moved to the right to engage the opposed lock edges of wing elements 30 and 3|, wing 3|, hereinafter referred to as fixed wing 3 I, remains in the plane of the support panel whereas wing 30, hereinafter referred to as yieldable wing 30, is forced outwardly and away from the fixed wing 3|.

The rear portion of each However, it shouldbe ob- This results in the attachment head l being held tightly against the lock edge of .the fixed wing in such a. manner that as soon as the widestpart of head in has been forced beyond thefree edge'of the fixed wing, it will be shifted upwardly wherein the rear face a: of the attachment head It will be engaged, as shown in Fig. 6. Experi- -ment has demonstrated that even though the lock edge 33 of yieldable wing 30 is disposed on the forward face at, of head It, that is, to the right of plane XX, the mounting strip and its associated finish panel are so tightly held against the support panel as to make accidental or unintentional displacement or removal thereof, impossible.

To dislodge the applied finish panel, it is necessary to insert a suitable tool between the adjacent faces of the finish and support panels in order to pry the anchorage heads loose from and out of their respective sockets. During the removal operation, fixed wing 3| may be'slightly bent outward, that is, toward the finish panel, thereby permitting head i!) to be drawn out of engagement from yieldable wing 36.

In those instances where the attachment head engaging qualities of the wing elements 30 and 3! become impaired by reason of distortion due to the removal operation, said wings may be reconditioned and returned to the plane of the support panel. 'The yieldable wings 36 may be bent outwardly, to the left, by means of a screw driver blade or other tool, inserted through cen- I tral opening 35, and the fixed wings 36 may be bent inwardly, to the right, by means of a light hammer blow. In this manner it is possible and practical to recondition the wing elements so that a finish panel will always snugly abut its support panel regardless of the number of times it is removed therefrom.

The sockets disclosed in Figs. 1 and a differ primarily from the sockets disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2 in that the lock edges so and 5| respectively, of the opposed wing elements are arcuate and V-shaped in form rather than straight. I

Such constructions reduce the degree or amount by which the yieldable wing elements so need be flexed in order to accommodate passage of the widest portion of an attachment head therebetween. l

It should be observed that a finish panel may be applied directly to a support panel without being first shifted relative thereto for the purpose of perfecting engagement of the anchorage heads id of the finish panel with the sockets H of the support panel. This feature is of par-.

ticular importance in those instances where control shafts such as door-latch and windowmechanism-control shafts extend outwardly from the support panel and project through the finish panel, as is the common practice in automobile body constructions.

It should likewise be observed that side shifting of an applied finish panel relative to its support panel is effectively precluded by disposing the various socket members at right angles relative to one another. As illustrated in Fig. 1, an anchorage head or ball is free to move or be shifted vertically along its longitudinal axis within and relative to socket A, but is prevented from horizontal movement therein by reason of contact with lock edges of the wing elements so and Si. In the same manner, horizontal shifting is possible in socket B, but no vertical shifting is possible. fl'ierefore, it is obvious that sockets A and B cooperate with and are mutually deof spaced sockets therein,

pendent upon each other for nonshiftably supporting the finish panel upon the support panel.

It should be understood that while attachment heads I0 are shown attached to mounting strip M, which in turn is associated with finish panel 12, such attachment heads may be secured directly to the rear face of metallic finish panels or the like. If desired, the hereinabove disclosed fastener device may be used to secure decorative metallic panels to store fronts, metallic tile to walls, and in all those instances where it is essential to have the outer face of the mounted panel absolutely plane and smooth.

It should be observed, Figs. 5 and 6, that the lock edge 33 of yieldable wing 30 engages the forward face M of the attachment head in such a manner as to progressively exert an upward force upon head It thereby maintaining the upper portion of said head in constant and contlnual contact with the lock edge of the fixed wing 30. As the finish panel is forced against the support panel the lockedge of the yieldable wing will be shifted along the forward face of head 18 thereby progressively drawing the lock edge of the fixed wing tighter against the lock face of said head until the lock edge of the yieldable wing is disposed on its maximum diameter, through plane X-X.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided fastening means for securely, though detachably mounting one panel in coplanar abutment upon another panell Said fastening means are particularly adapted for mass production fabrication, and are structurally strong and resistant to damage and deformation during shipment and storage. It should be further observed that, due to the absence of sharp projecting points and/or comers, the possibility of injury to workmen handling the mounting strips or the finish panels is reduced to an absolute minimum.

What is claimed is:

1. An upholstery assemblage including a body panel including a support face having a series each socket including a substantially fixed wing and a yieldable wing both struck from the material of the body panel and located in opposed relationship to one another lnitially within the plane of said body panel, each wing including opposed sides and afree end, the free adjacent ends of the wings of each socket being spaced apart for defining a central openlng,'a finish panel for application. to said support face, a series of spaced anchorage elements secured to and'project-ing outwardly from said finish panel, each anchorage element comprising a substantially non-deformable spherical ball like member the diameter of which is greator than the distance between adjacent free ends wing spaced from and opposed thereto, each of said wings including a lock edge, the lock edge of said wings being spaced apart to define a central opening, a second panel for application to said support panel, a series of spaced anchorage elements secured to and projecting outwardly from the rear face of said second panel, each of said anchorage elements comprising a round ball the diameter of which is greater than the distance between the adjacent lock edges of the fixed and yieldable wings of a sock:et, said ball including a forward and a rear face which progressively increase to and decrease from a maximum diameter of the ball, said ball upon being introduced into said central opening adapted to flex said yieldable wing out of the mean plane of the support panel away from said'flxed wing as said ball is moved relative to the fixed wing for locating the rear face of said ball in engagement with the lock edge of said fixed wing, the lock edge of said yieldable wing adapted to engage the forward face of the attachment ball for progressively shifting said ball toward and against the lock edge of the fixed wing as the second panel is forced into coplanar contact with the support panel.

3. An upholstery assembly which comprises a body panel including a support face having a series of spaced sockets therein, each socket comprising a pair of opposed wings, one of which is ment forwardly of its widest portion for mainfixed, the other yieldable, a finish panel for application to said support face, a series of spaced spherical attachment heads carried by and projecting outwardly from said finish panel, said anchorage elements adapted to be engaged one each by the opposed wings of a corresponding socket for supporting said finish panel fiatwise against said support face, each attachmenthead including a forward and a lock face, the fixed talning the lock edge of said fixed wing in contact with and to the rear of the widest portion of said spherical element.

.7. As 'a new article of manufacture a sheet metal support panel having a series of spaced sockets formed therein, for the reception of spherical attachment heads carried by a finish panel adapted to be mounted fiatwise against said support panel, each socket comprising a pair of opposed wings, each wing including opposed side edges and a lock edge, the lock edges vofthe wings of each socket being spaced apartto provide an attachment head-receptive opening, and rein-- forcing means provided in said support panel for stiffening one of the wings of a socket for increasing its normal resistance to movement out of the mean plane of the support panel.

8. As a new article of manufacture a sheet metal support panel having a series of spaced sockets formed therein, for the reception of substantially non-deformable spherical attachment heads carried by and projecting outwardly from a a finish panel adapted to be mounted fiatwise against said support panel, each socket comprising a pair of opposed attachment head engaging edges both ofwhich are coplanar with the supwing of a socket adapted to engage the lock face of an attachment head whereas the yieldable wing is adapted to engage the forward face of the same attachment head for maintaining snug engagement between said fixed wing and the lock face of the attachment head.

4. As a new article of manufacture a sheet metal finish strip for finish panels and the like, including front and rear faces and having a series of spaced attachment heads carried by and projecting outwardly from said rear face, each attachment head comprising a ball tangentially contacting at a single point the rear face of said strip, and permanently secured to said strip in the stated relationship by means of welding.

5. As a new article of manufacture a' metallic mounting strip including front and rear faces and having a series of spaced anchorage elements carried by and permanently secured to the rear face of said strip, each anchorage element comprising a metallic ball welded directly to the rear face of said'strip for providing a spherical shaped body portion projecting from its rear face to provide a bearing surface which progressively increases to and decreases from a maximum on opposite sides of a plane taken through the center of said ball parallel to the plane of the strip..

6. As a new article of manufacture a, support panel having a series of spaced sockets provided through its body, each of said sockets adapted to releasably engage a spherical element carried by a finish panel adapted to be mounted fiatwise against said support panel, each socket comprising a pair of opposed anchorage lips struck from the body of said support panel, one of said lips being fixed and the other being yieldable to movement out of the plane of the support panel, each of said lips including a forward lock edge, the lock edges of the lips of each socket being spaced apart by a dimension less than the diameter of a spherical element, said yieldable socket lip adapt ed to be flexed outwardly and away from the port panel, and oneof which is appreciably stiffer and more resistant to movement out of the mean plane of the support pane] than the other.

9. As a new article of manufacture a sheet metal support panel at least one edge of which terminates in an out turned flange, a series of spaced sockets formed in the panel for the reception of spherical attachment heads carried by a finish panel adapted to be mounted fiatwise against said support panel, each socket comprising a fixed wing and a yieldable wing spaced from and opposed thereto, each of said wings including an attachment head engaging lock edge, the lock edge of the fixed wing disposed in close proximity tothe support panel flange in order to partake of the increase in stiffness of the metal resulting from out-turning of the flange, whereas the lock edge'of the yieldable wing is disposed remote from said flange.

10. As a new article of manufacture a sheet metal support panel at least one edge of which terminates in, an out turned flange, a series of spaced sockets formedin the panel for the reception .of spherical attachment heads carried by a finish panel adapted to be mounted flatwise against said support panel, each socket comprising a fixed wing and a yieldable wing spaced from and opposed thereto, with both wings disposed initially coplanar with the support panel and normal to the flange, each of said wings including an attachment head engaging lock edge, the lock edge of the fixed wing disposed in close proximity'to and in substantial parallelism with the support panel flange whereas the lock edge and projecting outwardly from a finish panel providing attachment heads carried by and projecting from said finish panel, each socket comprising a pair of attachment head engaging elements coplanar with the support member, one '0? said elements being appreciably stifier and. more resistant to movement out of the mean plane of the support member than the other, each of said anchorage elements adapted to be releasably engaged by a socket for supporting said finish panel flatwise against said support member.

RALPH w. HALL. 

